Japanese company has a hit product with blue light filtering glasses

Many of our readers probably work in front of a computer for long hours. Of course, doing so can be tough on your eyes if you don’t have much of a break. There’s lots of software out there that will help you adjust, including f.lux, an application that changes the color of your computer display according to the time of the day. And here in Japan, most people in the tech industry are likely familiar with Jins PC, protective glasses that filter bluelight.

According to its website, Jins PC reduces the amount of bluelight you receive from your computer, mobile phone, and even your television display by as much as half. It was released back in September of 2011 and since then it has been a mega hit. It has posted a sales record of two million in just an year and a half after its release. The glasses are super light, weighing only 13 grams, with flexible frames providing a nice fit.

At the time of release, Jins PC leveraged the power of bloggers to create some online buzz. This online strategy worked well, with Jins PC easily available for purchase through its website. In addition to providing customized glasses online, the company also sold pre-packaged glasses for only 3,990 yen (or about $40), available in 16 colors. The packaged glasses are available at offline stores as well.

Jins PC changed the pre-conception that glasses are just for vision correction, opening up an entirely new market. And as a result another well-known affordable glasses manufacturer, Zoff, entered the PC glasses market in March of 2012.Yahoo Japan has provided all of its employees with Jins PC and the glasses are often used in medical institutions too. The company behind Jins PC, Jins Co, has other lines of glasses such as Jins Moisture and Jins Kafun Cut (which roughly translates as Jins Pollen-proof).

Yukari is a tech writer based in Tokyo, with previous experience working with a few startups in Japan. She also supervised the Japanese caption and narration of the movie “Social Network”. She aspires to contribute to Japanese startup scene by what she does best: writing. Find her on Twitter, at @yukari77.